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A Daily Yonder analysis shows that in 2018 under the pre-stimulus rules, a greater percentage of rural tax filers claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit than cities. Suburban filers were least likely to claim EITC. New rules this year will make more families eligible for the program. (Daily Yonder/IRS data)
Two poverty-reduction programs that are part of the Biden administration’s March stimulus package will have a disproportionately large impact on rural families, according to policy advocates who want the temporary measures to be extended.
The American Rescue Plan expanded the Child Tax Credit, which ranges from $3,000 to $3,600 per child, to most families. Before the expansion, nearly half of rural children did not receive the full tax credit benefit because their parents earned too little to qualify.
Congressâs Most Family-Friendly Member
Rosa DeLauro has spent 30 years in the House fighting for an adequate Child Tax Credit and paid family leave. Sheâs finally getting someplace.
Elizabeth Warren first met Connecticut congresswoman Rosa DeLauro two decades ago, long before she became a senator from Massachusetts. DeLauro is famous among D.C. politicos for hosting twice-monthly dinner parties to which she invites academics, policy experts, and journalists to talk to members of Congress. âSheâs always driving the debate with an intellectual energy thatâs uncommon around here,â Sen. Sherrod Brown, a frequent guest, told me.
This particular evening, Warren, then a Harvard professor who had just co-authored a book about why so many American families were mired in debt, was the star of the show. âShe invited me to come to dinner and she said sheâd have a few people over,â Warren recalls. Instead, she found DeLauroâs living roomâp